Ant-Man versus The Atom!
Marvel’s size-shifting hero versus DC’s shrinking super.
It’s a battle of tiny epic proportions here on versus!
Who will win?
Give us your pick in those comments below with either hashtag ant-man or hashtag atom.
Hey everybody!
Welcome back to Versus - a series we do here on Top 10 Nerd where we take a look at your
favorite comic book and other fictional characters and toss them into the ring with one another.
Today, its Ant-Man versus the Atom - a character now being popularized by the MCU and another
whose gotten a pretty good stint in the Arrowverse - despite both of these facts, we’ll be
looking at the characters solely from the comics.
Rather than get messy with Hank Pym’s Ant-Man - the dude has donned many an alias, and we
want to keep it simple for this versus - we’ve chosen to look at Scott Lang as Ant-Man instead.
So with all that in mind, let’s jump in.
First off, let’s take a look at the origins of these two characters, both fictional and
publication history.
Starting off with Ant-Man!
Scott Lang first debuted in The Avengers issue 181 in 1979 but didn’t debut as the second
Ant-Man until shortly afterward in Marvel Premiere issue 47 of that same year.
After Hank Pym, the first Ant-Man had taken on the Yellowjacket alias, David Michelinie
jumped on the opportunity to craft a new shrinking hero, saying, I quote, “I wanted something
completely different, in both origin and motivation, from Pym.
So I came up with the idea of a reformed criminal - not an unjustly accused innocent, which
would have been the expected angle.
And I figured that, as a burglar, he probably enjoyed the adrenaline rush of his previous
job, so the excitement of heroic adventure could fill that need in him, but legally.”
While the character’s initial appearance didn’t score him a solo series, he eventually
grew on people - Scott was a single dad, a reformed criminal, was super relatable and
had an endearing boyish charm and wit that kept fans curious.
He’s also known for his humor - something that has translated quite well into the character’s
MCU adaptation.
Initially, an electrical engineer, Scott got into crime when his life failed to give him
any excitement.
Or, at least, that was the story originally - it was later retconned that Scott got’s
criminal lifestyle was one of necessity because he was unable to support his family.
As a burglar, he was eventually caught and did a stint in prison for four years before
getting out on good behavior.
But his time in prison wasn’t a total waste - he improved his abilities with electronics,
which helped him score a jump at Stark International’s design department when he was out.
His daughter Cassie would then fall privy to a serious heart condition, and the one
surgeon who could help her case was abducted and taken to Cross Technological Enterprises.
In order to save the doctor, Scott returned to his thieving ways - as a last resort, that
is - and stole the Ant-Man suit from Hank Pym’s home in New Jersey.
Pym saw him steal it and decided to follow him to see what he intended to do with the
suit, only to witness Lang save the surgeon, and defeat Darren Cross in the process - who,
side note, would take up the Yellowjacket alias in 2016 after he returned from the dead.
Scott wanted to return the suit to Pym, who refused and let him keep it.
From then on out, he began to aid members of the Avengers, starting off with Tony Stark
and Bruce Banner - the former having him figure out the truth behind Justin Hammer, and the
latter with crafting a nuclear-powered regulator to help Banner control his heartbeat and prevent
transformations into the Hulk.
Moving on to Atom!
Ray Palmer first appeared in Showcase issue 34 back in 1961, created by Julius Schwartz,
Gardner Fox, and Gil Kane.
Atom was one of the first superheroes of the Silver Age, following suit with the new ‘sci-fi’
inspired heroes that DC was debuting.
He was created as an updated version of Al Pratt of sorts, the golden age Atom - a character
who was a 5’1 college student studying physics and was typically depicted as a tough guy.
That Atom had atomic strength and agility, was a superb athlete and boxer, and had an
immunity to radiation.
Schwartz wanted to avoid updating that hero though, choosing to go with something new
instead.
He had read about dwarf stars and thought that a fragment of one could power the Atom’s
miniaturization.
Palmer’s character wasn’t a student, either.
Instead, he was a physicist and a professor, specializing in matter compression with the
goal of countering overpopulation and the problems that came along with it.
After encountering a white dwarf star that landed on Earth, Ray makes a lens out of it
that allows him to shrink any object, although the compression would destabilize objects
molecular structure and cause them to explode.
He then gets trapped in a cave during a spelunking expedition with his class and girlfriend and
ends up using the lens to shrink himself down to climb through the rocks, hoping to free
everyone by causing himself to explode.
But instead of combusting, he returns to normal size.
Later tests on other objects still cause them to explode, but for whatever reason, his body
can shrink and grow back without a problem.
He decides to use this newfound ability to become a superhero and crafts a belt tool
that helps control his miniaturization, allowing him to shrink down to a subatomic level, along
with a costume that he designs that will shrink with him.
A retcon in 2010 would change this so that instead, in order to survive to shrink, he
would need to wear a costume made out of a compression matrix in order to stabilize the
effects in his body.
ABILITIES
Starting off with Ray.
Atom has the ability to shrink and grow his body, and also do the same to other objects,
all due to the white-dwarf star he crafted into the belt buckle of his costume.
At times, this includes on a subatomic level.
While shrunken, he can maintain the strength he has in his normal state.
In addition to this, he has a genius level intellect, and also a Ph.D. in physics.
He is one of the only DC characters to have full 100% control of his body on a molecular
level, which is a pretty big deal - he’s been known to reduce his mass in order to
glide through the air, and to increase his mass to the point of being able to punch through
concrete.
He has also shown the ability to shrink down others, although this tends to be limited.
It’s also worth noting that after the 1994 Zero Hour, he had the ability to grow in size,
but that was later reverted.
But, perhaps the real question of this match is, just how small can he get?
In Blackest Night issue 4, he shrinks down small enough to travel on photon signals through
fiber optic cable.
In Countdown to Final Crisis issue 18, Parker discovered that he could shrink down beyond
the subatomic scale, below the quantum layer beneath reality in order to traverse the Multiverse.
Moving on to Scott Lang!
Scott’s got a few tricks up his sleeve that Palmer doesn’t have - he has telepathic
insect communication, he uses Pym particle discs that can make himself and other objects
shrink or grow in size.
He’s a master thief.
And of course, he can shrink down to a subatomic level and can enter subatomic universes.
But, on the downside, he’s a bit more dependent on his costume than Ray is - his helmet, which
has a retractable plexiglass face shield, has a limited air supply.
All that being said, Lang uses a gas form of Pym Particles he keeps in a compartment
on his belt in order to shrink himself in size - while he would later go on to shrink
himself at will, he’s still reliant on the particles in order to do so.
THE FIGHT!
As silly as it sounds, this fight is entirely a shrinking contest.
Ultimately, it depends on three factors - the first being how small each of these men can
get in order to cause some real damage to one another.
In the past, Atom has shrunk down enough to fit into Superman’s bloodstream where he
manually rearranged the man of steel’s molecules to create Kryptonite.
Also during Blackest Night, when Al Pratt the original Atom makes an appearance, Ray
shrinks down and enters his body, and enlarges himself, ripping Pratt’s body apart.
The second being if these two could outsmart each other - arguably, they both have very
different kinds of smarts - Scott, while he’s proven to have some scientific competency
and electronic mastery by upgrading his uniform, is more of a streets smart kind of guy, thanks
to that criminal background.
Palmer is a book smart kind of guy - dude is a physicist and a university professor.
He’s also the one who invented his technology, whereas Scott stole his.
So arguably, Palmer is more of an expert when it comes to the ins and outs of getting really
small.
And lastly, the third factor is endurance.
Specifically, their technology’s endurance.
Scott is reliant on his Pym Particles, whereas Ray has the power of a white-dwarf star.
Which one do you think will run out faster if these two ended up engaging in a relentless
battle?
AND THE WINNER?
The Atom.
Perhaps if we were looking at Hank Pym rather than Scott Lang, there would be more of an
argument for an Ant-Man victory - Ray’s knowledge of physics and the fact that his
physiology is inherently adaptable to shrinking goes a long, long way.
If we were talking about him and Hank here, it’s probable that with Hank’s knowledge,
and his ability to manipulate his subatomic extra-dimensional particles, the original
Ant-Man would surely have an upper hand.
Plus, his powers come from a star - which, yes, will eventually die out, but likely not
within his lifespan.
Prolonged use of Pym Particles has negative effects on the user’s state, both physical
and mental.
While it’s been shown in the comics that too much use can cause the user to organically
generate Pym Particles, Scott was never able to do so - but his daughter Cassie was.
All that being said, Atom has proven his chops on the battlefield beyond getting really small
- being able to manipulate his mass in order to appear to fly or to throw wicked punches
is definitely an advantage when it comes to hand to hand combat.
There we have it, friends!
Do you agree with our pick?
Or do you think we’re being a bit unfair to poor Scott Lang?
Share all of your thoughts and feelings with us in that comment section down below.
If you’re feeling more Versus, be sure to take a look at the playlist we have flashing
on your screen - there’s plenty of ones featuring all-time comic favs, and even some
more obscure ones, too.
and also, my personal favorite, Harry Potter vs Elsa from Frozen which was straight up
ridiculous so you should probably go watch it right now.
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Hope to see you all in the next video.